Charisa Stories

Category: iPod Devotional

  • Need You Now

    (Reposted from theFish.com)

    A song by Plumb caught my attention for this week’s edition of the iPod Devotionals. Singer Tiffany Arbuckle adopted the name Plumb of her 90’s alternative rock band for her solo career.  The lyrics to “Need You Now” touched my heart.

    Well, everybody’s got a story to tell
    And everybody’s got a wound to be healed

    I want to believe there’s beauty here
    ‘Cause oh I get so tired of holding on

    I can’t let go, I can’t move on
    I want to believe there’s meaning here

    I am learning how important community is to make this journey with Jesus work. In my community I hear people’s stories. I learn about their wounds. I believe there is beauty there but I grieve with them through the process. The chorus reflects my response to life battles that are way beyond my pay grade.

    How many times have you heard me cry out
    “God please take this”?

    How many times have you given me strength to
    Just keep breathing?

    Oh, I need you
    God, I need you now.

    Jesus talked about how we limit our freedom by not trusting what He said to be true. He talked about a yoke and that His yoke was “easy”. Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29, NLT)

    You don’t have to ride the life roller coaster more than a couple of times to know that this journey is not “easy”. As I thought about loss I have suffered in my life and the suffering I see around me I was puzzled. What did Jesus mean by that statement? Clearly the burdens of life are heavy. There is nothing easy about heartache. A little research into the cultural context was helpful.

    The yoke was a wooden beam that harnessed two oxen together to pull a plow or load. The idea was that they worked together in shared effort. That idea fit well into my performance driven faith. Jesus was with me but I had to pull my weight equally. The only problem with my view is that it was untrue, dangerous and from the pit of hell.

    The truth is that Jesus was talking about the yoke of Torah, the yoke of the Law, which would have been familiar to his Jewish listeners. The Old Testament yoke represented submission to authority. The Jews knew that the law was impossible to keep. The key came in the often overlooked offer.

    “Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart.”

    For years I strained to pull my weight by determined self-effort while Jesus quietly offered a better way.

    “Let me teach you.”

    I wore myself out trying to do more to please Him even as He whispered.

    “I am humble and gentle at heart. Your trust and faith pleases me”.

    Members of this agrarian culture likely would have known that a young ox would be paired with an experienced ox for training. The mature ox would carry the bulk of the burden as the younger one walked by his side and learned. That is a beautiful image of Jesus walking side by side with me but carrying the bulk of the burden (if not all) as I learn from Him. That is the picture that Christ is painting. Not a straining effort to please but a submission to His provision and protection. Jesus is offering those who are exhausted and buckling under life’s burdens a way to not go it alone. That was a comforting thought as I considered that pain and loss is a given. I don’t have to go it alone. I can find rest for my soul even as I grieve.

    Pastor and author John Stott writes beautifully about how seemingly contradictory truths fit together.

    “The way to find rest is to lose our burden at the cross and allow Christ to put his burden and yoke upon us instead. Freedom is not found in discarding the yoke of Christ; it’s found in losing our own burden. It’s not found in discarding his authority; it’s an amazing truth that freedom is found under the yoke of Christ. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian life: under his yoke we find rest; through service we find freedom; when we lose ourselves in loving, we find ourselves; when we die to our self-centeredness, we begin to live.”

    And that is my heart’s cry today.

    Lord I need you.

    Now.

  • Blessings?

    (Reposted from theFish.com)

    A very dear person in my life is facing a tough decision. This faithful follower prays for wisdom, guidence, assurance and peace. The result so far is confusion and doubt. When they pray to hear the voice of God they hear spiritual crickets. Nothing. The frustration is real. But should we be surprised with the process?

    Problems Ahead

    A song by Laura Story resonated with my soul on a recent walk. The song is called “Blessings” and the words are profound.

    We pray for blessings
    We pray for peace
    Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
    We pray for healing, for prosperity

    There is nothing inherently wrong with praying for those things. But my attempt to maneuver God to grant my wishes is wrong. Laying out my will and praying for God’s notary seal is not what He desires. Blessings are not just receiving good things from God and that truth is beautifully captured by Story’s lyrics.

    ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
    What if Your healing comes through tears
    What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
    What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

    Her lyrics come out of learning to trust the object of her worship even through the trials. Her website bio describes her journey.

    But amidst that success a brain tumor hospitalized her husband in 2006. The faith Story sang about was put through the unexpected fires of fear and loneliness; most young newlyweds don’t imagine being kept alive at one point by breathing machines or having to find their way through significant post-operative vision and memory loss. Could grace notes resound from such a life-altering struggle?

    We know that pain reminds this heart
    That this is not our home

    Story relates the question she faced during the health crisis she faced with her husband.

    “But there’s a decision that I find God is asking us to make: whether we are going to choose to interpret our circumstances based on what we hold to be true about God, or whether we’re going to judge what we hold to be true about God based on our circumstances.”

    Our faith is not based on feelings or circumstances or checking off items on the prayer list. Our faith is based on the object of our faith. God is faithful. He hears our cries. But sometimes the answer is not what we desire. Paul learned the same thing and he wrote about it to the church in Corinth. You likely know the passage. Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” that he beseeched three different times to be removed. Paul had a pretty strong signal on the Faith-o-meter. Five bars. But God said no. I like the translation from The Message.

    Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

       My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
    My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

    Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  (2 Corinthians 12, The Message)

    The gift of a handicap? Are you kidding me? But as I look back on the deep valleys and trials of my journey I see God’s hand and my growth through those events. Blessings from the pain? Without question. And I am learning the truth of Laura Story’s experience.

    What if trials of this life
    The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
    Are your mercies in disguise?

    More and more I am realizing that they are.

  • The Long Road to Forgiveness

    (The current iPod Devotional from theFish.com)

    In recent weeks I posted a three part series at Crosswalk.com called God’s Weight Loss Plan. The plan was to shed the weight of bitterness and pain brought on by a lack of forgiveness. Nothing makes my heart ache more than seeing the damage of unforgiving hearts. I see bitterness and anger ravage relationships, marriages, church unity and the body of Christ. I have been guilty. I am guilty today. Even as I write I am trusting God for the healing and strength to forgive a hurt from years past.

    The iPod shuffle landed on a song by Melissa Greene today and the lyrics reminded me of how tough this forgiveness clause in our Christian contract can be to execute.

    The song is “The Long Road to Forgiveness”. The lyrics are written from a woman’s point of view but the pronoun is irrelevant. This is a gender neutral issue.

    She’s pointed fingers and stood her ground and built a wall around her heart
    She didn’t want to lose a battle in a war she not start
    She carried grudges long enough but they’ve only weighed her down
    but the bridges burned are just lessons learned that she carries with her now

    That little lyric bridge pretty much outlines every reaction of our flesh to being hurt. Step one is to blame someone else. Step two is to vow not to back down and give in because, after all, you were wronged. Step three is going into hiddenness and despair. Step four is being too proud to lose the battle. Step five is hanging onto the grudge even as it’s weight crushes your spirit.

    That is an ugly little sequence but it is a pattern I have repeated far too many times in my journey. I have heard it said that bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. I imagine the heart of Jesus being broken by our stubborn refusal to consider His forgiveness extended to us and consequently refusing to lean on His power to help us forgive. This passage in Paul’s letter to the Church at Colossae powerfully makes the point.

    Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (Colossian 3, NLT)

    I don’t see a lot of wiggle room in that text. If I claim that Christ is all that matters and that He lives in me then I must forgive those who offend me. Can someone find a loophole here? Please?

    The chorus of Melissa Greene’s song reminds me how hard this road can be.

    Down the long road to forgiveness there is fear at every turn
    And she knows she needs to go the distance
    Where her heart can finally rest, break these chains of bitterness
    God will heal her brokenness
    Down the long road to forgiveness

    There is fear on that road if you take your eyes off of Christ. Your heart cries out in protest. What if they reject, scoff or take advantage of my forgiveness? Jesus reminds us gently that He understands.

    When you break those chains and allow God to heal your heart the weight of the world will lift off of your soul. It is a long road to forgiveness. Sadly it is too often the road less taken. But it is the road that will make a difference in your journey with Jesus. I pray you will have the courage to start down that road today. Jesus will meet you there.